Grain-harvester.



PATBNTED APR. 18, 1905. H. J. CASE. GRAIN HAMPSTBR.`

APPLIOATION FILED APB.17, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ign esse/J PATBNTED APR. 18. 1905.

E. J. CASE. GRAIN HARVESTER. APPLIUATION FILED AIB.. '17, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET z.

PATBNTED APR. 18, 1905.

H. J. CASE.

GRAIN HARVESTER.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 17, 190s.

l VZ f L e No. 787,496. PATBNTBD APB.. la, 1905.

- H. J. CASE.

GRAIN HARVESTER.

AYPLIQATION FILED APR. 17. 190s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES Patented April 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. OASE, OF OWASOO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ADRIANOEl PLATT &COMPANY, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK.

GRAIN-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,496, dated April18` 1905.

` Application filed April 17,1903. Serial No. 153,090.

To all whom, it' may concern,.-

Be it known that l, HENRY J. OASE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Owasco, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Grain-Harvesters, of which thefollowing is a specication.

.This invention relates to that class of machines which are designed forharvesting Indian corn or maize and similar crops, and more particularlyto that type of such machines in which the stalks are conveyed in anapproximately upright position to the binding mechanism and are tied inbundles in that position.

The objects of this invention are to improve the construction,arrangement, and organization of the different mechanisms embodied inthe machine with a view of rendering the machine simple in construction,durable and efficient in operation, and to improve particularly themechanism by which the stalks are conveyed to the binding mechanism andthe means for dischargingthe tied bundles.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of four sheets. Figure l is anelevation of the machine viewed from the stubbleward side. Figs. 2 and 3are sectional diagrammatic plan views in lines 2 2 and 3 3, Fig. l,respectively. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the binder mechanism andconnecting parts viewed in the direction of the arrow 4, Fig. l. Fig. 5is a sectional perspective view of one of the feeding-wheels. Fig. 6 isa plan view of the butt-ejector. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the samein line 7 7, Fig. 6, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 8 is a plan view of theparts connecting the needle-shaft, knotter-shaft, and bu tt-ej ectorshaft on an enlarged scale. Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation in line 9 9,Fig. 3, looking forward. Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side elevation of thefeedingcams and other shifting mechanism. Fig. ll

is a fragmentary top plan view of oneofi'these cams and itsshifting'mechanism.

Like letters of referencefefer to like parts in the several figures.

Theframe A of the machine is constructed in any suitable manner and issupported on the stubbleward side by a master-wheel ct and at thegrainward side by a supporting-wheel a.

The main portion of the frame A, to which these wheels are attached, issubstantially horizontal, while the rear portion A of this frame isinclined and ascends rearwardly. The master-wheel is arranged in a sideframe a2, secured to the side of the main portion Al of the frame. a3 isa cross-bar in the main frame arranged at the junction of the horizontalmain portion and the inclined rear portion of the frame. a* is across-bar which connects the longitudinal members of the frame betweenthe master-wheel and the supporting-wheel. The master-wheel isadjustable, as usual, in curved guides a5, provided with teeth a, by apinion al, gear-wheel as, and worm a. Any other suitable construction ofthe frame and supporting parts may, however, be employed. r

The cutter mechanism is arranged, as usual, near the rear ends of theforwardly-diverging portions A2 of the main frame and in front of thecross-bar and may consist of a stationary cutter b and a reciprocatingcutter O O' represent the longitudinal dividerboards, which ascendrearwardly from the front ends of the main frame on opposite sides ofthe upper portion of the stalk-passage and are inclined toward eachother.

D D represent the upper pair of conveyerboards, which are arranged belowthe dividerboards C O' and also ascend rearwardly, but are horizontal ina transverse direction.

E E represent the lower pair of conveyerboards, which are arranged belowand in rear of the upper conveyer-boards D D' and parallel therewith.These lower boards have their front ends arranged at a considerabledistance in rear of those of the upper boards. As shown in Fig. 1, thelower conveyer-boards E E are supported near their rear ends from themainframe by inclined braces e, the upper conveyer-boards D D from thelower boards by bracesd, and the divider-boards C C from the upperconveyer-boards by braces o.

' F represents the bottom of the stalk-passage, which extends from thecutter mechanism rearwardly and upwardly on the grainward lside of thelower stubblevvard conveyerboard E and stubbleward around the rear endof this board over the inclined rear portion A of the main frame and inrear of the master-wheel and then forwardly to its discharge end on thestubbleward side of the masterwheel. The longitudinal 'portion of thisbottom is horizontal in a transverse direction, while its transverserear portion is inclined like the rear portion of the frame, so that thestalks lean forwardly in passing stubbleward over the rear portion ofthis bottom past the binding mechanism.

G G represent the upper conveyer-chains, which are arranged abovethe'upper conveyerboards D D@ and H H represent the shorter lowerconveyer-chains, which are arranged under the lower con veyer-boards EE. These chains are provided, respectively, with cornparatively shortteeth r/ and ZL. The stubbleward upper chain Gr is driven at the rearend of the board D by a sprocket-wheel I and passes around guide-wheelst' Z near the front end of this board. The grainward -upper chain Gr' isdriven at the rear end of the board D' 'by a sprocket-wheel I and isguided near the front end of this board by wheels 3. The lowerstubbleward conveyer chain is driven at the rear end of the board E by asprocket-wheel 12 and guided near the front end of this board by aguide-wheel 4. The lower grainward conveyer-chain is driven at the rearend of the board E by a sprocketwheel 13 and guided near the front endof thisA boardfby a guide-wheel 2"". The stubbleward drivingsprocket-wheels I I2 are secured to a forwardly-leaning shaft EG, whichis journaled at its lower end on the main frame, and the grainwarddriving sprocket-wheels I I3 are secured to a similar shaft The latteris driven from the master-wheel by intermediate mechanism, as shown inFig. 2, and drives in turn the shaft and the binding and dischargemechanisms.

The mechanism by which the grainward sprocket-shaft 7 is driven from themaster- Wheel may be of any suitable construction and as shown in thedrawings ,is constructed as follows: K is a sprocket-wheel secured tothe outer side of the master-wheel, and 70 a transverse counter-shaftwhich is arranged in front of the master-wheel and driven from thesprocket-wheel K by a chain .1 and pinion 762. 7c3 is a longitudinalcounter-shaft which is arranged on the grainward side of the masterwheeland driven fromthe transverse countershaft Zu by bevel gear-wheels Z4".765 is a diagonal intermediate shaft which is geared at its front end bygears Zr with' the longitudinal counter-shaft Z153 and at its rear endwith the lower end of the grainward sprocket-shaft Z7 9, provided withbevelpinions Z Z2, which mesh with wheels Z3 Z* on these shafts. Thegrainward sprocket-wheels I 13 are considerably smaller in diameter thanthe stubbleward sprocket-wheels I 12, and these pinions and gear-wheelsare so proportioned that the stubbleward sprocket-shaft is driven at thereduced speed necessary to cause the stuubleward conveyer-chains totravel with the same speed as the grainward chains.

M represents a knotter mechanism of ordinary construction secured to theupper end of the knotter-shaft m, which also carries near its upper enda discharge-arm m.

N represents a needle or binder arm of ordinary construction secured tothe upper end of a shaft n.

rPhe knotter-shaft m is arranged in rear of the master-wheel and infront of the bottom F of the stalk-passage and Hleans forwardly, beingarranged in a vertical longitudinal plane and at right angles to theinclined planes of the conveyer-chains and parallel with thesprocket-shafts 6 7. The needle-shaft n is arranged in rear of thebottomF and is similarly arranged in a forwardly-leaning position. Theknotter-shaft and the needle-shaft are journaled in a U-shaped frame ofordinary construction, arranged with its lower portion m2, Figs. l and,8, beneath the bottom F of the stalk-passage and having in front and inrear of the latter standards m3 m4, in which these shafts are journaled.

O, Fig. 3, represents the compressor-arm arranged stubbleward of theneedle and provided with the usual trip mechanism O.

p, Figs. 2, 3, and 4, represents a drivingshaft which is arrangedgrainward of the needle-shaft and which is driven near its lower endfrom the grainward sprocket-shaft Z7 by a chain p and wheels p2 p3. Thisdrivingshaft is provided at its upper end with a pinion pf, which mesheswith a wheel pr on the upper end of a counter-shaft g, from which theneedle-shaft, the knotter-shaft, and other parts are actuated. Theperiodical rotation of this counter-shaft from the driving-shaft p onceduring each operation of tying a bundle is controlled by the tripmechanism O of the compressor-arm O and a clutch O2 in a wellknownmanner.

The needle-shaft u is actuated from the shaft q by a crank (j on thelatter, a connecting-rod q2, and a rock-arm g3 on the needleshaft, Figs.2, 4, and 8. The knotter-shaft m is rotated from the counter-shaft qonce during each operation of tying a bundle in a well-known manner bythe crank q on the counter-shaft, a forked connecting-rod g4, connectedwith a'guide-crank Q5, and a crank QG on the knotter-shaft.

The stubbleward sprocket-wheels 1,12 are provided with folding teeth R,Figs. l, 3, and 5, for propelling the stalks through the rear portion ofthe'stalk-passage to the binding mechanism. These teeth are arrangedflatwise upon these sprocket-wheels and are pivoted to the rims thereofby pivots r, so that the teeth can be projected into the stalk-passageor be withdrawn therefrom. The teeth on each of these feeding-wheels areprojected into the stalk-passage by a cam S, which is mounted concentricwith the sprocket-wheel and which has a salient portion s, by which theteeth are projected into the passage, and a retreating portion s, whichpermits the teeth to withdraw'. The teeth are provided with tailpiecesor trailing-arms r, which run in contact with the face of the cam and bywhich the position of the teeth is controlled. The retreating portion ofthe cam is provided near its end with a shoulder r2, by which the armsfr' are caught and swung rearwardly preparatory to lifting them upon thesalient portion of the cam. The cam is so adjusted that the teeth seizethe stalks near the rear end of the longitudinal portion of thestalkpassage and propel the stalks toward the binder mechanism andwithdraw from the stalks before the latter reach the needle. The cam isshifted circumferentially once for every operation of tying a bundle ina backward direction or contrary to the direction in which the stalksmove through the passage, so that the teeth are released sooner or at agreater distance in front of the needle. This backward movement of thecam takes place just before the needle enters the stalk-passage and hasthe purpose to prevent the teeth from feeding stalks against the back ofthe needle while the latter stands across the passage. When the needlehas been retracted, the cam is returned to its normal position, which isshown in full lines in Fig. 3, while the shifted position of the cam isshown in dotted lines. The oscillating movement of each of these cams iseffected from the needle-actuating mechanism by the following means: s2,Fig. 8, represents a connecting-rod which extends from a lug s3 on theneedle-actuating rockarm g3 to an arm s* on the lower portion of aforwardly-leaning shaft s, arranged near the knotter-shaft m. Thiscam-actuating rockshaft 85 is provided with arms s, Figs. l, 10, and 11,which are connected by rods S7 with the cam S. Each cam rests upon theadjacent feeding-wheel and is held thereon against accidentaldisplacement by a collar S8, Fig. 5, on the shaft above the cam.

The sprocket-shafts z' 7 are provided above the divider-boards C C withone or more wheels Ii, Figs. l and 4:, having fixed teeth which takehold of the tops of the stalks and propel the same rearwardly.

T, Figs.' 3 and 6, represents a butt-ejector which is arranged near thebottom F of the stalk-passage underneath the binder mechanism and whichtakes hold of the butt-end of the tied bundle and pushes the samestubbleward in the stalk-passage. This butt-ejector the bottom to itsposition of rest.

performs this movement at about the same time that the discharge-arm monthe knotter-shaft performs its discharge movement, the discharge-armtaking hold of the bundle near the point where the same is tied. Thebutt-ejector is actuated by a crank t on the counter-shaft q and slidesin a slotted guide or loop t', attached to the standard m4 of the needlemechanism. The butt-ejector has a curvedbody which slides in this loopor guide, and its free end t2 projects forwardly from this curved body,so as to extend crosswise of the stalk-passage when in its operativeposition. (Shown in full lines in Fig. 6.) When the butt-ejector is inits position of rest, its free end t2 lies adjacent to the rear wall ofthe trough-shaped bottom F, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. When theejector is actuated, it is iirst swung with its free end across thebottom to the front side thereof and then moved stubbleward over thebottom to eject the bundle, while during the return movement of theejector the free end of the latter is first swung across the bottom tothe rear side thereof and then moved grainward over This peculiarmovement of the ejector produces a very effective pushing action, whichis exerted squarely against the bundle. The bottom F is inclined at itsstubbleward end to facilitate the'discharge of the bundles andpreferably provided with the usual ledge or raised shoulder t3stubbleward of the binder mechanism for holding the butt-end of thebundle until the latter is thrown off by the dischargearm and thebutt-ejector.

In the operation of the machine the stalks after having been cut areconveyed rearwardly by the conveyer-chains through the longitudinalportion of the stalk-passage and upon approaching the rear end of thisportion of the passage are seized by the teeth of the feedingwheels andconveyed onward by these teeth into the transverse portion of thepassage and to the binder mechanism. The teeth crowd the stalks againstthe compressor-arm and the trip-arm O until the pressure of theaccumulated stalks operates the trip-arm and the latter starts thebinder mechanism. The pressure of the stalks against the teeth swingsthe teeth back on their pivots and causes the teeth to be withdrawn fromthe stream of stalks as the teeth rotate with the feeding wheels. Everytime the needle moves across the stalkpassage the teeth are releasedandwithdrawn at a greater distance from the needle to prevent the stalksfrom being crowded against the same. Vv'hen the bundle of stalks hasbeen tied, it is thrown off by the action of the butt-ejector operatingagainst the butt-end of the bundle and the action of the dischargearmoperating against the bundle near the height at which the bundle istied. The stalkpassage extends to the stubbleward side of themaster-wheel, or nearly so, and the bundles IOO l being dischargedtherefrom fall forwardly on the stubbleward side of the master-wheel.The bundles are in this manner discharged so far stubbleward thatsuflicient room is left for three horses between the discharged bundlesand the standing grain. This arrangement locates the binder mechanism ata considerable distance rearwardly from the axis of the master-wheel;but the rearwardly overhanging weight resulting therefrom is to a largeextent counterbalanced by the driving mechanism arranged in front of theaxis of the master-wheel.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of a stalk-passage having alongitudinal portion and a transverse portion which extends stubblewardfrom the rear end of the longitudinal portion, an endless conveyer-chainhaving its operative portion arranged in the longitudinal portion of thestalk-passage, a feed-wheel arranged at the stubbleward side of thestalk-passage at the junction of the longitudinal and transverseportions thereof and having movable teeth, means for projecting saidteeth into the stalk-passage and removing the teeth therefrom, and abinder mechanism arranged in rear of the transverse portion of thestalkpassage, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a stalk-passage having a longitudinal portion anda transverse portion which extends stubbleward from the rear end of thelongitudinal portion, endless conveyer-chains having their operativeportions arranged on opposite sides of the longitudinal portion of thestalk-passage, a feedwheel arranged at the stubbleward side of thestalk-passage at the junction of the longitudinal and transverseportions thereof and having movable teeth, a movable cam for projectingsaid teeth into the stalk-passage and withdrawing the teeth therefrom, abinder mechanism arranged in rear of the transverse portion of thestalk-passage, and means for automatically shifting said cam in unisonwith the binder mechanism, substantiallyas set forth.

3. The combination of a master-wheel on the stubbleward side of themachine, a stalkpassage having a longitudinal portion and a transverseportion which extends stubbleward in rear of the master-wheel, a bindermechanism arranged in rear of the stalk-passage and in rear of themaster-wheel, an endless conveyer-chain having its operative porl tionarranged in the longitudinal portion of the stalk-passage,- and afeed-wheel provided with movable teeth and arranged at thejunction ofthe longitudinal and transverse portions of the stalk-passage,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a stalk-passage having a longitudinal portion anda transverse portion which extends stubbleward from the rear end of thelongitudinal portion and which has a rearwardly-ascending bottom, anendless conveyer-chain having its operative portion arranged in thelongitudinal portion of the stalk-passage, a feed-wheel arranged at thestubbleward side of the stalk-passage at the junction of thelongitudinal and transverse portions thereof and having movable teeth,said feed wheel having its axis arranged in a longitudinal verticalplane and leaning forwardly, a binder mechanism arranged in rear of therear portion of the stalkpassage and having its upright shaft arrangedin a longitudinal vertical plane and leaning forwardly, and a knottermechanism arranged in front of the rear portion of the stalk-passage andhaving its upright shaft arranged in a longitudinal vertical plane andleaning forwardly, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a stalk-passage, a butt-ejector adapted to bemoved :in the same, an actuating-crank arranged on one side of thestalk-passage and connected with one end of the ejector, and a guide inwhich the ejector rocks and slides and which is arranged adjacent to thestalk-passage between the actuated end of the ejector and the free endthereof, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of a stalk-passage, a butt ejector having a curvedbody and a straight end, which latter projects crosswise of the passagewhen the ejector is in its effective position, an actuating-crankarranged on one side of the stalk-passage and connected with one end ofthe ejector, and a guide in which the ejector rocks and slides and whichis arranged adjacent to the stalk-passage between the actuated end ofthe ejector and the free end thereof, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 14th day of April, 1903.

HENRY J. CASE. Witnesses:

LLOYD JOHNSON, C. E. GUFFIN.

IOO

